Such sentiments are so common. And not just the specific sentiment about the pre-division pennant races. I’m talking about the general sentiment that that which happened during one’s youth was the best thing ever.

Most of us are guilty of this from time to time. Of advocating the notion that what occurred when we were kids — or, more often, when we were in our 20s — was the greatest version of said thing ever. Bob Ryan was 21 when the 1967 Sox won the pennant so of course he loved it. People love almost EVERYTHING when they’re 21. The Braves beat out the Giants in the last non-wild card pennant race in 1993. I was 20 then. People my age tend to think that was when pennant races were pennant races and, God, it’s all been a load of crap since. You can bet that someone who was 21 when game 163 was played a couple of years ago will one day tell their kids about how amazing that was.

But there’s a subtle difference between saying that you enjoyed the stuff of your youth and claiming that it was superior to everything that came after. In the former case you’re just being human and looking back at your salad days with rose colored glasses. That’s harmless and understandable. It’s why I’ll never not talk about old “Night Court” episodes or British synth-pop from the 80s.

But the latter case — saying that the stuff you enjoyed was better than all of the stuff now — is just old fogeyism. Sad and somewhat pathetic old fogeyism too inasmuch as you are devaluing that which other people enjoy simply because you do not. God, don’t do that. Don’t ever do that. No one says you have to like the new stuff — I sure as heck don’t like a lot of things that people in their 20s like today — but don’t claim that you have some monopoly on taste and that today’s youth are misguided. Or at least don’t claim that it’s bad that they are. Being misguided about stuff is a damn important part of being young. An enjoyable one at times. And a state of being which makes all of the things that are great about being young possible.

But whatever the case, learning the difference between “I love the stuff I enjoyed in my 20s” and “the stuff that happened in my 20s was THE BEST” is pretty key to one’s happiness. And is essential to one continuing to learn and enjoy new things as one grows old. Because it’s merely a preference. Not a stop sign.

Former Mets catcher Johnny Monell signed a contract with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization, per a report by Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. The 30-year-old originally struck a deal with the NC Dinos on Thursday, but the deal appeared to fall through at the last minute, according to Cotillo’s unnamed source.

Monell last surfaced for the Mets during their 2015 run, batting a dismal .167/.231/.208 with two extra bases in 52 PA before the club DFA’d him to clear space for Bartolo Colon. While he’s had difficulty sticking at the major league level, he’s found a higher degree of success in the minor league circuit and holds a career .271 average over a decade of minor league play. He played exclusively in Triple-A Las Vegas during the 2016 season, slashing .276/.336/.470 with 19 home runs and a career-high 75 RBI in 461 PA.

The veteran backstop appears to be the second MLB player to join the KT Wiz roster this offseason, as right-hander Donn Roach also signed with the club last month on a one-year, $850,000 deal.

Brewers’ right-hander Phil Bickford received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse, per the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Shaikin. This is the second time Bickford has been suspended for recreational drug use, as he was previously penalized in 2015 after testing positive for marijuana prior to the amateur draft.

Bickford was selected by the Giants in the first round of the 2015 draft and was later dealt to the Brewers for lefty reliever Will Smith at the 2016 trade deadline. He finished his 2016 campaign in High-A Brevard County, pitching to a 3.67 ERA, 10.0 K/9 rate and 5.0 BB/9 over 27 innings.

Two other suspensions were handed down on Friday, one to Toronto minor league right-hander Pedro Loficial for a positive test for metabolites of Stanozolol and one to Miami minor league outfielder Casey Soltis for a second positive test for drugs of abuse. Loficial will serve a 72-game suspension, while Soltis will serve 50 games. All three suspensions are due to start at the beginning of the 2017 season for each respective minor league team.

We are very disappointed to learn of Phil’s suspension, but we fully support the Minor League Baseball Drug Prevention and Testing Program and its enforcement by the Commissioner’s Office. Phil understands he made a mistake, and we fully anticipate that he will learn from this experience.